4 . Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old student from Annandale, Virginia, has created a bar soap (肥皂) to treat melanoma, the most common kind of skin cancer, which earned him the title of America’s Top Young Scientist and a $25,000 cash prize after his innovation won first place in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

“I made this soap by mixing regular medicinal soap with different cancer fighting chemicals.” Bekele said in an interview. Rather than a cure, Bekele’s soap aims to help the patient’s immune cells stay active while fighting melanoma.

While similar methods are available for skin cancer treatments, his solution is a more affordable alternative, especially for those in developing countries. Though the product is very promising on paper, studies would have to be carried out to test its efficiency in the real world.

For now, the young scientist said he has a five-year plan: At the end of it, he hopes to have created a nonprofit organization where he can provide fair and accessible skin cancer treatment to as many people as possible. But to accomplish his goal, he would have to get his treatment through clinical trials, obtain a temporary patent and have it licensed by the Food and Drug Administration, he said.

“I applied for the 3M Young Scientist Challenge because I believe that young minds can make a positive impact on the world,” Bekele said. “I have always been interested in biology and technology, and this challenge gave me the perfect platform to showcase my ideas. The opportunity to work with 3M mentors and show my project to judges was an exciting prospect. I am passionate about finding sustainable solutions to global problems, and I hope to inspire others to do the same.”

The audience and viewership for this year’s Spring Festival TV gala, which was aired on Feb 9, Lunar New Year’s Eve or Chinese Lunar New Year, both reached record     1    (high), according to ratings statistics.

    2    (support) by ultra-high-definition production, the gala was telecast on TV screens, public large screens, and mobile devices. A total of 250 million people watched the live streaming of the show via     3    (they) mobile phones with the total views reaching 420 million, up by 37.97 percent and 57.58 percent,     4     (respective), compared with 2023. The China Global Television Network (CGTN) worked with over 2,100 media organizations in about 200 countries and regions to live broadcast or report the show in 68 languages,     5    (result) in over 1.5 billion instances of viewing,    6     increase of 12.69 percent year on year.

This year, the gala, in addition     7    Beijing, had four branch venues. Audience enjoyed a diversity of local cultural elements from those places, such as folk     8     (music) instruments and folk dances.

Since its broadcast in 1983, the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala     9     (become) an essential part of celebrations in the country to greet the Chinese New Year. As a major entertainment during Lunar New Year’s Eve, the gala marks the joyous moment     10     families gather together to celebrate.

7 . Dutch researchers have discovered that birds living in cities are using metal spikes (尖刺) to build their nests. People put these spikes on buildings in order to keep birds off their balconies, benches, and chimneys, but birds seem to be stealing them and using them to keep people away from their eggs.

The research began when, in the courtyard of a hospital in Antwerp, Belgium, biologist AukeFlorian Hiemstra found a large nest that had been built by a magpie (喜鹊). The nest was made from about 1,500 metal spikes. They were pointing outward to create a protective system around the nest.

“I just stared at it, this strange, beautiful, weird nest,” Hiemstra told BBC News. When he investigated further, he found that magpies had moved away nearly 165 feet of metal spikes that had been glued to the hospital’s roof.

After Hiemstra made this discovery, his team heard about a similar nest created by crows in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and another magpie nest in Glasgow, Scotland. The crows had positioned the spikes in a different way, perhaps using the metal to support the nest’s structure.

In their report, the researchers mention many kinds of birds moving spikes off buildings, but they chose to focus their study on corvids(birds from the crow family). The researchers pointed out that there have been previous studies on how corvids use everything from telephone wires to clothes hangers to build their nests. They said the use of anti-bird spikes “hints at a functional use”—meaning the birds seem to know exactly what they’re doing.

Magpies have often been seen nesting in thorny (多刺的) places, where the thorns can prevent people from attacking the small eggs and chicks inside the nest. Thorny hedges aren’t common in cities, however, so the theory is that magpies use the human-made version instead. Hiemstra calls this the birds’ “revenge”. “We’re trying to get rid of birds, but the birds are collecting our metal spikes and actually making more birds in these nests,” he said.

10 . Very few people can say that they have achieved all that they are capable of. But what is it that is preventing you from fulfilling your potential (潜能)?

    1     They know that they have something special to contribute and they are determined to make their mark. This does not mean that they are too proud. On the contrary, they are self critical and push themselves hard because they know that they can achieve more.

It is easy and natural to settle into a rut (墨守成规). Why try something new when you are already doing that you are good at?     2     They take risks. They move out of their comfort zones. They take on difficult challenges. They push themselves to acquire new skills and to face new examinations of their abilities.     3     Where are you right now — inside your comfort zone or taking risks?

    4     Thinking and planning are great but it is action that leads to success. It is only by doing things and doing the right things that you change the world.

Let’s face it — your friends and family are really nice people but they are not challenging you to achieve more. Spend more time with high flyers and positive thinkers who understand ambition and achievement. Share some of your thoughts, dreams and challenges with them.     5